Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster allowed seven earned runs for the second consecutive start on Thursday, recording just one out before being yanked.Along the way, he walked four, hit a batter and yielded four hits, including a grand slam to Stephen Drew. Through six starts, the usually reliable Dempster now sports an unsightly 9.58 ERA and 1.87 WHIP.Given his steady production over the last three seasons (3.49 ERA, 8.20 K/9, 3.28 BB/9), one can't help but wonder: What's wrong with Ryan Dempster? Scouts noted Dempster's dip in velocity Thursday night, clocking him in the 85 to 90 mph range. For the ...

The hot bat of Starlin Castro has been one of the nice surprises to the Chicago Cubs and the rest of Major League baseball through the season's first month.Castro, at the tender age of 21, has seemingly erased any doubt about a possible "sophomore slump" in his second year in the Windy City.The question the Cubs must be asking is, "How high is his ceiling?"Players as young as Castro generally don't sniff a major league ballpark until September, when rosters are expanded and teams do unofficial "tryouts" for next season.But Castro has already logged over 550 at-bats as a big-leaguer—and ...

Twenty-three games into the 2011 season, the Chicago Cubs are 10-13. Obviously, that record is not indicative of their team salary, which is sixth in MLB. In any event, through the first few slides you'll immediately figure out the Cubbies' main concern. As it closes out, we'll cover a couple other positions that are also in need of some improvement. So to get going, here are 11 players the Cubs should target before the 2011 trade deadline. NOTE: All stats are current through Tuesday, April 26th, 2011.Begin Slideshow

Being from Chicago and growing up listening to the late Ron Santo, I feel blessed to have been able to listen to one of the all-time best color-men in the history of sports. His presence was felt throughout his long tenure as a player and announcer for his beloved Chicago Cubs. Inspired by a fellow writer, I started thinking about just what kind of personalities the broadcast booth needs these days. The particular article (found here) I read was about how Scottie Pippen in the booth wasn’t as exciting as it should have been because of his over-critical, pessimistic attitude. Instead, ...

This year, like every other, will provide us with season-ruining busts and the championship making prospects. To help you out, the following are the top five players you should, and still can target to ensure success in your fantasy league. For a more complete ranking of fantasy players go to Jackman Sports' Rankings found here. Note: the following rankings and stats are based off of Yahoo! Fantasy Sports Leagues.
Follow me on Twitter- @kjackmansports, Check out my website JackmanSports.wordpress.com or go to my facebook- facebook.com/jackmansports.Begin Slideshow

The Chicago Cubs may have thrown the 1918 World Series, an Associated Press report suggested Wednesday. In fact, it appears that the 1919 White Sox—later known as the Black Sox after several players were found to have thrown their World Series a year later—maybe have gotten the idea from the Cubs the season before. The notion arose following the release of a 1920 court deposition that the Chicago History Museum recently put on its website. In it, former White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte, one of the players thrown out of baseball after the scandal, said: "'the boys on the club' ...

The Chicago History Museum recently placed a 1920 court deposition on its website, and it contains quotes that imply the Cubs may have thrown the 1918 World Series against the Boston Red Sox.
Eddie Cicotte, who was one of the 1919 Black Sox banned from baseball after being accused of throwing the World Series, said that there was talk of just such a thing.
"The ball players were talking about somebody trying to fix the National League ball players or something like that," Cicotte is quoted as saying in the deposition (source: Associated Press via ESPNChicago.com).
"Well anyway there was some talk about them offering $10,000 ...

I promise you that this article isn't going to be one of those that simply reminisces about glory days and laments the passing of the 'good old days' when a postage stamp was 10 cents and outfielders shared baseball mitts. Look, a lot of positive changes have occurred that have helped to improve the enjoyment of the game of baseball. But I must admit that some of the changes do have me occasionally longing for things I miss about the game. The Cubs getting rained out on Tuesday, and playing a split doubleheader on Wednesday (weather permitting), got me thinking about this. ...

Normally, when a 21 year-old stencils his name in urine on his neighbor's vinyl siding and is cited by the local police, people write it off as kids being "too young to know any better."Similarly, when you've recently turned 21—classifying you as the youngest player in the Majors—and you're hitting .418 through the season's first three weeks, I guess you're also "too young to know any better."As much as the Cubs' starting pitching this season has been as infuriating as an octogenarian breaking your cruise control on the Kennedy, Castro has been absolutely incredible.In the Cubs' recent trip to Colorado, ...

Alfonso Soriano is having a great start to the 2011 season already hitting five home runs and 12 RBI through 15 games. He is actually on pace for 50 home runs this season if he plays 150 games.Even though he has been playing strong, I could see Soriano end up on the trading block because of his ridiculous contract (he is in the middle of an eight-year, $154 million dollar deal). The Cubs right now are not a very talented team and Soriano's value is at its highest since signing the contract.These are five teams who I feel could be ...